I recently started stringing my full poly at lower tension (around 45 lbs) to avoid injury. In addition, I have been considering switching to a softer poly to further reduce the risk of injury. Obviously, however, if I decide to switch to a soft poly, then I will have fewer strings to choose from, and as far as I can see there are only a few soft polys that offer good tension maintenance. Therefore, I am wondering whether I would be better off sticking with a medium-stiffness poly and further reducing the tension to, say, 40 lbs. Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that different string beds of equal stiffness will have a similar level of comfort (assuming the different strings are reasonably similar e.g. both poly). Therefore, if the stiffer poly at lower tension has the same string bed stiffness as the softer poly at higher tension, then the comfort level will be similar, except that the stiffer poly at lower tension will likely have better tension maintenance. Is there anything else I should consider when selecting a poly/tension with a view to avoiding injury?
Stiff poly at low tension vs soft poly at higher tension
- Thread starter Slapper
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The softer poly is better for you're arm. Also when you string them a bit tighter.
I always played with the luxilon alu power at 30 lbs. But still it hurt my arm( had a hugh arm/shoulder injury for 18 years now) about 10 months ago i switched to the luxilon alu power soft and that was a hugh improvement at the same lbs also with 4 lbs tighter. But recently i switched to the Diadem Solstice Power 17 and play now with 33/34 lbs and this was also a hugh improvement. After 18 years of pain with tennis (and im a tenniscoach...[emoji85] [emoji58]) i feel almost nothing anymore. The last procents were helped bij switching to the Wilson H19, H22 and the head Tgk223.2. I love them!
If i may advise you, try the Diadem Solstice Power 17!!
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CopolyX
Hall of Fame
soft or med soft , get the tension as low as you can go..what works the best.
to avoid TE, good form first, at least a 11 oz plus stick, use the best scenario for you with a forgiving stringbed .
hybrids
sync gut
mutis
natual gut
full bed of copolys is dead last, sure the softer the best but it is still a poly.
flat hitters, no need for it
to avoid TE, good form first, at least a 11 oz plus stick, use the best scenario for you with a forgiving stringbed .
hybrids
sync gut
mutis
natual gut
full bed of copolys is dead last, sure the softer the best but it is still a poly.
flat hitters, no need for it
Glad you found a solution to reduce your pain.
But I'm wondering if you measured your string bed stiffness with those different setups? If not, how can you be sure that it was the softer string that made the difference, and not a less stiff string bed (i.e. maybe ALU Power Soft at 34 lbs is still less stiff than ALU Power at 30 lbs)?
Thanks for your suggestion re: Diadem Solstice Power 17. It is on my list of strings to try.
OK, but why do you think that a soft or med soft string at the lowest acceptable tension is better than a stiffer stiffer string at an even lower tension (i.e. same string bed stiffness)?
I'm only interested in polys.
I dont measure it. I feel it. And i strung them first all at the same lbs. With my injury and 21 years stringing experience and teaching/coaching experience, i feel it immediately.
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You feel what? The string bed stiffness? If it felt less stiff with the ALU Power Soft, then yeah, I can understand that it would have felt better. But what I am trying to understand is the difference (if any) in comfort between a soft poly and a stiffer poly, where the tensions are adjusted such that the string beds have equal stiffness.
Because its a softer material? Also at a same stringbed stiffness, its still softer material.
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Because its a softer material. And that often damps better also.
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OK, so are you saying that the softer poly will absorb more impact shock than the stiffer poly, even if the two have the same string bed stiffness?
Yes, thats the difference between the harder and softer material. Its the same with rackets. How lower the RA how better the racket absorbs the vibrations.
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Yeah, it does make sense. I mean, I can imagine that full gut would be more comfortable than full poly at any given string bed stiffness. I just wasn't sure whether the difference between a soft poly and a medium-stiffness poly would be big enough to make a significant difference if the string bed stiffnesses are the same.
I guess that it would also depend on how hard you are hitting the ball. So, for example, you could have a soft poly and a stiff poly that have equal string bed stiffness when the applied force is moderate, and in that case the softer poly would have a lower stiffness (and therefore be more comfortable) when the applied force is great. Does that sound right?
That does sounds right Yes! But the softer poly will always be softer for you're arm when you hit hard or less hard. But you feel the difference more when you hit the ball harder.
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2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
Are you not aware that energy return metric for strings is independent of stiffness?
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Not sure. I may have read something along those lines.
What does energy return have to do with comfort?
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
Well, I've used polys that (solinco tourbite 16l is good example) that are really stiff, but still have a lot of power. I could swing easy, which is nice, but control and ball pocketing were minimal.
Then other polys are not all that stiff but still just don't put much power into the ball. (cyclone 16 is like that) These are the ones that I like to string low. I tend to find this "deadness" runs in a lot of black inked polys, whereas "crispness" more so in silver ink.
Have you given any thought to adding some weight to the hoop around 3/9 or 10/2?
Oh, I see.
I don't want a string with a lot of power because then I'd have to string tighter and/or swing slower to compensate. I take big cuts and just want comfort and control. So a soft poly that doesn't have too much power would probably be ideal.
I'm already using a racket with the maximum swingweight that I can handle, so I can't add any more lead.
fuzz nation
G.O.A.T.
I'm kind of grumpy today - the high school kids I coach have been rained out for three days in a row. So with that in mind, I have to say that you're rolling the dice if the only step you're willing to take toward arm safety is to find a soft poly and nothing else. I wish you luck, but I don't think this is a great approach.
I've blown up my arm after using a soft bed of full poly at low tension in a very arm-friendly racquet. I don't want this to happen for anybody else, including yourself, so don't think that I'm wagging a finger or crapping on you. I'd be willing to bet at least a nickel that you could get a more arm-friendly layout with a hybrid including a light gauge poly main paired with a softer cross.
Also keep in mind that workouts away from the courts should likely help. Moderate weights will likely keep everything stronger and more limber.
So if you stick with the full poly option, I'd say have a look at Luxilon Element. Two guys I work with use this string and love it. They also had to work to adjust to it because it's apparently a real-deal softer poly. Another one that gets that "Wow, this stuff is really soft!" feedback is Luxilon 4G Soft. I also knew a slugger a couple years ago who swore by Solinco Tour Bite and I know that he used a lighter gauge, but I don't know which one.
It's not the only step I'm willing to take. As I said in the first sentence of my OP, I've started stringing looser. And ever since I started stringing looser, I have not experienced any arm pain. It feels comfortable. A switch to soft poly would be an additional step to further reduce the risk of experiencing arm pain in the future.
I didn't give the following details in my OP, as they didn't seem relevant, but basically I was using a relatively stiff full poly (Signum Pro Poly Plasma 1.28) setup at around 55 lbs in 95 sq in head at the time I got injured. The injury prevented me from serving and smashing, but I could hit ground strokes and volleys without any pain. So I switched to using poly/nylon and poly/multi hybrids at lower tensions (low 50s) for about a year to give my arm a rest. However, the lack of control, spin and durability that I experienced with those hybrid setups was intensely frustrating. Then, recently, when I started reading about the increasing popularity of full poly at low tensions, I decided to give it a go. And so far it has worked for me, even with moderately stiff polys. Now I again have the control, spin and durability that I am used to, and no arm pain. But I really don't want the arm pain to come back. So, that's why I am interested in soft polys.
See above.
I agree 100%. I need to do that.
Luxilon Element 1.25 was actually the first poly I tried when I switched back to full poly. Felt good, but only lasted not more than 4 hours, so the durability was unacceptable to me.
Shroud
Talk Tennis Guru
High sw and bigger handles are pretty much a get out TE card imho.
Also monogut zx is like a poly but soft like gut. Hard to imagine getting te with a full bed of that.
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
You could move it from 12 to 3 & 9 and the racket will feel al lot less brassy.
Bottom line, poly has generally poor tension maintenance and going soft but stringing high just gets you back to basically neutral, so why do it?
I already have a relatively high SW (340) and my grip is very large.
I am curious to try Zx though, probably as a cross.
I don't have any lead in the hoop. My racket is a club in stock form.
I'm stringing low now and the tension maintenance has been acceptable to me.
Shroud
Talk Tennis Guru
Best cross out there if you know how to string it. Prestretch it too.
2nd Serve Ace
Hall of Fame
Well then, a successful and useful thread. [emoji4]
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